When transmission parts are a topic of holiday meal conversation and the grandkids open their Christmas gifts in order of seniority, you know you’re in the home of a Ford family.
Kirsten Guthrie, a fifth-generation UAW/fourth-generation Ford team member, hired in at Sharonville Transmission Plant in 2019 as a manufacturing technician. She may have low seniority at the plant, but when it comes to opening Christmas presents, it’s a whole different story.
“I have the highest seniority on my mom’s side, and I’m the second grandchild opening gifts on my dad’s side,” she said.
Kirsten’s dad, STP manufacturing technician Thomas Guthrie, hired in at the former Batavia Transmission Plant in 2000 and transferred to STP in 2007 when Batavia closed.
Thomas follows a long line of family members who worked for Ford, including his grandfather, mother, father, brother, uncle and stepdad, who all retired from Batavia. Even his grandmother worked at Batavia in the cafeteria. His great-grandfather was a UAW worker at Autolite. Currently, his stepbrother Bryon Smith and aunt Tina Sukup also work at STP.
“It was like a dream of mine to work with my mom,” Thomas said. “It’s kind of like hitting the lottery when you get hired in here. It’s worth staying for the insurance.”
But, most of all, Thomas values his relationships with coworkers. “They become like family after a while, working with them for so long.”
While Thomas tried to encourage Kirsten to follow in the family footsteps, Kirsten said she was not at all interested at first.
“It was the last thing I imagined for myself,” said Kirsten, “but the older you get, the more reality kicks in – especially for things like health insurance. Good health insurance was really the signing factor.”
One of Kirsten’s favorite parts about working for Ford is the opportunity for learning and growth.
“I just like learning in general. I ask questions a lot. I’m always curious,” she said. “The cool thing about here is you can bounce around and learn different things. There are always options, and you can change it up.”
